Crumbling
by Deaths-Radiant-Flower
Summary: After an unfortunate even, Naruto's perspective on life changes. He trains to become stronger and prove a point to the world but looses himself along the way. His world starts falling before his eyes and the only thing he can do is fall with it. AnbuNaruto! Yaoi! GaaNaru! SasuSaku!
1. Prologue

**Important Note: A while back I took down Crumbling and Battlefield because I didn't like the way I had written it. Or, I didn't like the way I had abandoned it since I had really liked writing for it. A day or so back I was thinking about this story and after a lot of pondering I decided I would put it back up, but change it up a little.**

 **I'll be going through the other chapters and changing a few things. First of all I'll be trying to make everything seem more… plausible. I'm trying to approach this fic in a different direction but I still want to follow the original as much as I can** **(I don't think I'll be able to. My mind has become far too imaginative and ideas are already swarming)** **.** **To be honest I don't think there will be much of a link between the old Crumbling and this one. But I will try my hardest to stay in the same frame as it. But I really can't promise anything.**

 **I hope you guys enjoy. This chapter hasn't been changed much but I did try to fix errors and make things sound more interesting. I hope I did a good job. Reviews are welcome.**

 **Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto, only this fic.**

 **Warnings: Rape warnings throughout this story. Violence, strong language and probably character death. You have been warned. In the end one of the main characters might die so be warned** **(it's only a maybe though so don't fret). There will most probably be YAOI in this. GaaNaru. Those who have read my other fics** **(the ones I took down XD)** **know just how much I love Naruto and Gaara.** **There will definitely be SasuSaku in this one. Sorry Sakura haters. I've grown to appreciate her and Sasukes relationship. There will also be other pairings. I will take requests as well (but be reasonable with my yaoi loving heart. I'm not good with some heterosexual pairings but I'm willing to give anything a try.)**

 **Crumbling**

 **Prologue**

* * *

"Oh... It's that kid again. Rei, stay away from him. He's bad news" the sound of a mother speaking to her child reached Naruto's ears. He knew they were talking about him. They always did.

"Why mummy?" He heard the small kid ask. Naruto tried to hear what the mother would say to her child. What would they say this time? What name would he be called today?

"He's a little demon. Don't play with him"

See's today is just like any other day. He would sit here on this swing, All lonely, llistening to the horrible words the adults would say about him. He had somehow gotten used to it but with each word came a stab to his heart. He didn't know why they hated him and he found it unjust that they treated him like they did for reasons unknown to him.

If he knew what was wrong with him he'd at least be able to accept their treatment. But he didn't, and it was starting to get to him. Not that he'd show them that their harsh treatment wounded his weak heart. He knew that it would only feed them, nourish their sick minds. There was no good to showing them his pain as they'd only enjoy his suffering more.

He was only eight and his thoughts were like this. Best to not think about it and just move on. Put on a happy smile and walk away, unbothered by their hateful stares.

He couldn't hide from the truth forever though. He knew this all too well. Those stares were painful and they were tearing at him.

Hopping down from the large swing, Naruto looks at the mother and child, a smile on his face. The boy didn't seem to bothered by Naruto as he smiled back while the mom on the other hand had a look of pure disgust on her face.

Naruto waved at them and was delighted when the small boy waved back. Naruto grinned before putting his hands in his pockets and turned around, starting his long walk home all the while listening to the small boy and mother talk.

"Why can't I play with him…he…nice…"

Naruto had always had good hearing but the further he walked away the harder it got to hear what the mother would say. He did get a few pieces though.

"Reason... Father... Dead... " it was a vague thing but he shrugged his shoulders and walked further out of the small park and towards the apartment he had been given once he was deemed able to look after himself.

He took alley ways to get there. He could easily just walk through the shopping district but he knew what awaited him there. Cold, disgusted stares. He wasn't really in the mood for them today.

But taking the alley could prove to be bad as well... He could get beaten by an adult or the older kids... It wasn't something that hadn't happened before. He got beaten up a lot of times. And in a way he got used to that as well. It was a sad reality that he lived but he couldn't do much about it. He was hated and he would just have to deal with that.

One day, though, one day he will gain the respect of the village. He'll make them look at him with admiration and fondness. They'll see that he was not a demon, that he was someone worthy of their respect.

Naruto was so engulfed in his thoughts he failed to notice the group of Large men in front of him and accidentally bumped into one of them. He fell backwards, landing painfully on his back while hitting his head against the hard floor. He let out a pined sound. He brought his hands up to his head and rubbed at the sides, trying to soothe the pain that had settled there.

"Ow..." He mumbled out, getting up into a sitting position, his hands still rubbing at his head. He looked up to see three sets of blazing eyes staring down at him. The blonde gulped out and quickly stood up, completely forgetting about his paining head. "I'm s-sorry. I wasn't paying attention to where I was walking" he apologised as he looked up at the three scary men.

"It's quite alright" one of them said, a dirty smirk on his face. "We'll just have to make sure that you never do it again" he said as he nodded at the two men next to him, "Get him." He ordered and one of the men grabbed Naruto by the shoulders, tightly. The blonde tried to squirm out of the man's hold but he was far too weak compared to the man.

"So, you're the demon brat. I've never seen you upfront before. You're cute for a little monster" he said as he bent down, coming face to face with Naruto who spat in his face and gave him a defiant look. The man's face contorted into an ugly snarl and Naruto knew for a fact that he was going to regret that. "You shouldn't have done that" the man said. _I think I already know that_. Naruto thought in his head as the man suddenly balled his hand into a fist at struck the blonde with it.

The man holding him down tightened his grip as more hits descended on his body. With each hit come pain and soon his whole body was throbbing in anguish. He could feel a blade slide up and down his tender skin, the cold metal slicing at his skin, making his body tremble.

The pain was too much his eight year old mind and body could handle and soon he lost consciousness.

* * *

It was dark when the blonde finally woke up from his forced slumber. Well he thought it was dark. He couldn't really see much with his vision being temporarily impaired. Naruto blinked his eyes a couple of times, hoping it would help, but still he couldn't see much.

Every single part of his body burned with pain. He could vaguely remember what had happened before he passed out. His mind was a fuzzy haze and he was having trouble placing his thoughts together. This was probably one of the most brutal beatings he had ever gotten. He knew that his nose was probably broken, and that he had cuts in various places. He could feel them stinging as the cold air brushed against his naked form.

The blonde paused. Naked? Was he naked?

He looked down at his body to find that he indeed was wearing absolutely no clothes.

Why was that?

 _Maybe they took them off so that they could cut me up in different places_. The blonde thought to himself as he searched out his clothes. They weren't that far from him, maybe five steps away.

He slowly got up, wincing at the immense pain that he felt in his nether regions the simple action caused. He tried to ignore it and instead walked over to pick his clothes up. _What did they do to me…?_ He was badly injured. It amazed him that he was able to push himself to get his clothes.

He looked down at his body and saw dry blood down his legs. _They cut my legs, that's why there's blood there…_ He thought to himself as tears started welling up in his eyes from the pain and the stone cold truth of what had really happened to him.

He remembered. He was in and out consciousness throughout it didn't know what they had been doing, but he knew it was wrong. The tears started running down his cheeks, mixing with blood, dirt and sweat. The memories of what had happened burned in his mind like a fiery flame.

They had touched him, probed him, put things _in_ him. _They put something in my… in my butt._ He could remember the pain of everything they had done, but that definitely topped the cake. It was excruciatingly painful. He remembered feeling like something was tearing him into tiny little pieces.

And as soon as that thing had entered it started moving agonizingly fast, in and out, in and out.

It had hurt him in more ways than one. He'd experienced damage physically, emotionally and mentally.

 _It... I was seeing things._ Naruto thought, trying to deny the truth. _It was... Nothing... They hadn't..._ He couldn't even finish that train of thought as a shock of pain from his backside made him cry out. The sound echoed through the alley he was in.

Nobody heard him though. They'd never hear him, nor would they come and save him if they did.

He was all alone.

* * *

When the blonde had got home he immediately took a bath to wash away the filthiness he felt. He was careful with his body though, not wanting to upset any of the wounds he had.

He was extra careful with his lower half. Most of the pain was generated there and one wrong movement and he'd be crying out in pain. It took him longer just to clean himself but it was better than being quick and hurting himself in his haste.

After his bath he had tended to his wounds, put on bandages and healing cream before he put on his ramen Pyjamas and went to his room.

He couldn't really sleep so he just laid there on his bed, staring up at his bare ceiling.

His body was healing. He knew that it wouldn't take long since he always healed fast. He also knew that he should have gone to the hospital to tend to his wounds instead of doing it himself, but he felt embarrassed. He didn't want to go there. He couldn't bare the thought of having to explain to the medics what had happened to him. Besides, he hated hospitals anyway.

Naruto turned to his side and faced his window. It was storming outside.

He sat up slowly, wincing slightly at the pain that followed. He got off of his bed and walked over to his kitchen. He hadn't eaten yet. Maybe a nice hot meal would make him feel a little better.

But he didn't actually feel hungry. And if he ate now he'd probably throw all the food up and he was not going to waste his precious ramen cups.

He just poured himself a cup of water, drank it and then walked back to his room. He laid back down on his bed and decided he'd just give sleep a try.

After a few minutes he finally let himself fade into the world of dreams. Unlike his other dreams, which consisted of a world where he was accepted by everyone, this one was filled with nothing but darkness and his blood curdling _screams_.


	2. Chapter 1

**Crumbling**

 **Chapter 1**

* * *

Naruto had woken up that morning with a dull pounding in his head. His body was feeling ten times better than what it had felt like yesterday but he was still pretty much in pain. Of course, he wouldn't pass out because of it like he had yesterday.

As he weakly got up from his bed he walked over to his kitchen with the speed of a snail. He hadn't eaten the night before so by now his hunger was through the roof. He pulled out a cup of ramen from his collection and started heating up some water. He wanted to pour himself a glass of milk, but the creamy substance was expired. Instead he opted to have a plain glass of water.

He waited for the water to boil he sat down at his table and stared down at his hands. They were filled with cuts, much like every single part of his body. He felt disgusted at himself. Now he really seemed like what all the other villagers called him. A monster. He was a monster. If he had only been stronger he could have fought off those men… he could have avoided what had happened. But the truth of the situation was as clear as water.

He wasn't strong. He was weak. And that was why he couldn't stop those men from doing what they did. He was only eight years old. The only thing he could do was sit and cry while everyone else shunned him. He knew that he could have easily just run away. Things would have been a lot better for him. But he didn't want to. He was a lot of things, but he wasn't a coward.

The sound of boiling water distracted him from his thoughts. He looked over at the small tea pot on his little stove with stormy eyes. His head ached. He could feel his brain pulsing against his skull persistently. He knew how hungry he had been earlier, but he suddenly didn't feel like eating.

*growl~*

Naruto let out a sigh and looked down at his belly. "You always get the best of me, don't you?" he says, tapping his hand against his stomach, a soft smile forming. He got up from the chair and tried to stand on his feet, only to sit back down again when he felt a sharp pain in his hips. He let out a pained whimper. "Maybe I should just go lay dow-"

*grrrrrroooowllll~*

"Stupid stomach" he growls out as he gets up again and ignores the pain in his hips- and everywhere else for that matter- and starts the mundane task of feeding his growling belly. He was glad.

Now that he was actually doing something he didn't have to sit and think. At the moment thinking was probably not very healthy for him because it'd only make him more hurt than he already was…

* * *

Later during the day Naruto had decided to be brave and leave his run-down apartment and take a stroll outside. Today was a rather bright, sunny day. The cheerfulness made him feel sick, but he pushed through it and managed to go down to his favourite swing in the playground. Today it was empty and for once he wasn't so saddened by this.

He wouldn't have to hear parents telling their children to stay away from him because he was a monster and he was grateful for that. He had been able to sit in silence and ponder the meaning of life. It seemed kinda ridiculous, considering his age, but he had found himself doing it anyway.

 _Why was I born?_

This questioned seemed to be frequently asked, but each time unanswered. He didn't know why he was born. He felt like it was to become the punching bag of all the other villagers, the laugh of the town. Or more like the monster of the town that they can't get rid of. He had considered running away many times. But he didn't want to. He had nowhere to go.

And a part of him didn't want to give the village the joy of him disappearing. He didn't hate them, he knew that, but he wouldn't allow them to bask in happiness while he had to suffer in pain. Which is what he had been doing for eight years already. And although nothing would change if he stayed, he still didn't want to leave.

There was a solution to his problems. To get the villagers to finally notice him and accept him as a human being and not a monster, he needed to become strong. But there wasn't much an eight year old could do, was there? If he asked anyone to train they would tell him to get lost. And on the off chance that someone does actually let him speak to them, what would they think? They would think he's crazy, that's what they'd think.

And he didn't know if he would be able to get stronger himself because he didn't even know the full meaning of the word and what the consequences of it were. Obviously he knew that getting stronger meant acquiring power, but there was more to "getting stronger" than just obtaining strength. How would he get it? Will he be able to control it? Will he be able to protect the village with it? And lastly, will his efforts be worth it in the end?

He didn't have answers to either of those questions. He didn't know how he would become stronger, he didn't know if he'd ever be able to protect the village nor did he know how he would be able to control his powers. But what he did know was that the possibility of his efforts being worth it in the end was nothing but a dream. Even if he did attain enough strength to protect the village he would still be a meaningless monster.

The one thing he feared was not making a difference. He didn't want to try and have his efforts thrown into his face. But trying was better than sitting around and doing nothing. He knew there was a small possibility of being accepted but that was a small chance he was willing to make happen. He didn't care how long it took him. He would get the acknowledgement he desired.

"Naruto? Why do you look so beaten? Did one of the older kids beat you up?" Naruto heard someone speak out in a worried tone. He looked up from his relentless staring at the ground to find old man Sarutobi standing there, eyes fixed on him. Naruto didn't say anything at first. He just stared at Sarutobi, eyes dull and lifeless.

"Naruto…" the old man trailed off, not knowing what to say at the dead look he was given. It took Naruto a while, but his eyes eventually sparked with life as he realized that the person in front of him was the Third Hokage. ' _I can't act suspicious in front of him. I have to act like I normally do_.' Naruto thought to himself as he forced a smile.

"Nothing to worry about, Jii-san. Just fell out of a tree" Naruto says bashfully. Sarutobi stared at him with a blank face. Naruto only continued smiling at him. "I'll be careful next time" he says, trying to make his lie believable. He was failing miserably.

His smile faded. He looked down at the ground again. "Should have known you wouldn't believe me" he mutters out as he looks up at the Lord Third, his eyes suddenly glossy. "You're the only one that cares enough to ask me how I am, even when I cause you so much trouble. And you're probably the only one that can see through my lies…"

"What happened to you? Was it another group of older kids?" Sarutobi questions. Naruto shakes his head. "No… it…" he continued but he couldn't finish. He didn't want to remember the night before. But as Sarutobi stared at him expectantly he felt like running up to the man and crying. And he knew that once he started crying everything would just flow out. He didn't want to remember. But it was already too late.

The tears came and along with it the story of what had happened the night before. Sarutobi listened to everything the blonde said, all the while struggling to contain his own shock and anger. Naruto didn't skip out on any of the details. Once the story started, it never ended. And Sarutobi felt disgusted. Naruto noticed this and felt like running away.

"I… I know it's my fault… I let them do it…. I was powerless… and I know that the village hates me… but I want to change. I need to become stronger. I need to be able to protect myself and the village… I don't want you to be angry at me anymore and I don't want the village to hate me… so please…" Naruto says between sobs, "please train me"

Sarutobi was shocked by the blondes request. He had stayed silent, just staring at the sobbing blonde. When he eventually spoke he did so with a heavy sigh. "Naruto. You're not a disappointment. I'm not angry at you either. You haven't done anything wrong. What happened wasn't something someone like you should have experienced and I promise that if we find those men they'll be punished. I understand you want to become stronger, but I just can't train you. I have my duties as a Hokage to attain to. And you're just far too young…"

Naruto bowed his head. "I should have known that it wouldn't be so easy… but I won't give up" he says, looking up again with determination in his eyes. Sarutobi was taken aback by the look in Narutos eyes. "It doesn't have to be you… but please… if I don't become stronger it could happen again. So please…" Naruto says pleadingly.

Sarutobi sighed out. "I think I have someone who wouldn't mind training you… but Naruto… are you sure you want to do this? you're still young…" the old man points out and Naruto glares at me. "Age doesn't matter. Look what happened yesterday. Those men didn't care that I was a powerless eight year old… they didn't care…"

Silence passed between them. Sarutobi knew that Naruto was right. Age didn't matter in the ninja world. It was just a number. "Fine. If that's what you want then I'll grant your wish. Meet me at my office at six. And pack your bags. You're going on a journey"

* * *

Naruto had followed the Third Hokages request for him to be in his office at six o'clock. He'd packed a bag of his things. He didn't have a lot of things so he managed to fit them all into a damaged bag he had found in some alley. The walk to the Hokage building had been painfully silent, yet pleasantly calm. The streets of Konoha were oddly tranquil.

Naruto had whizzed past a couple of villagers who gave him dirty looks. He paid no attention to them, but their looks still penetrated the back of his head as he walked away and made him feel as if he was being burnt with fire.

By the time he got to Sarutobi the sun had already set, casting a luminescent shade over the building and lighting up the inside. The radiant colours seemed somewhat eerie to Naruto but he chose to ignore it and walked up to the Thirds office.

He didn't even bother knocking and just opened the door to Sarutobi's office and barged right in. He had never really felt the need to be formal whenever interacting with Lord Third and he wasn't about to start now.

"Naruto, it's impolite to just walk into the room without knocking" Sarutobi said as he watched the blonde waltz into his office as if he owned it. Naruto didn't say anything, he just stared at the man, a weary look on his face. "You said I should meet you here. I'm here now and I've brought my things…" Naruto says awkwardly, looking around the room.

His eyes caught on something standing next to Sarutobi's desk. "What is that?" he said as he pointing at the large figure. " _That_ is the person who I am now making your mentor" Sarutobi says, rolling his eyes. "But it looks like a pervert. Isn't this the man all the ladies at the bathhouse complain about? White hair, weird markings on his face, wrinkle… yeah. This is definitely the pervert all the ladies are afraid of"

The man standing next to Sarutobi furrowed his brows as he stared at Naruto. "I am not a pervert. You've got it all wrong. I'm just very into my research" he says, grinning at the blonde. Naruto gives him a disinterested look and travels his gaze over to Lord Third. "Do you want me to become some pervert that peeks on the woman in the hot springs?" he questions.

"No, Naruto… though this man may look and seem like a pervert he is actually one of the legendary Leaf Sannin… he has been trained by me and in turn trained the Fourth Hokage. I thought he'd be a fitting mentor for you. If you desire to become stronger than he is definitely the best person who can help you achieve that"

"So… so he's the one who is going to train me?" Naruto questions, looking over at the man and then back at Lord Third.

"Yes. This is Jiraiya -." Lord Third started but was interrupted by the man standing next to him.

"I am, Jiraiya, the epitome of manliness! I shall fall for no woman's wiles! When you're me, you only need to flash that sexiness to have women fall at your feet!" Jiraiya exclaimed. Naruto sweat dropped.

"I'm definitely going to turn into a pervert if he trains me" The small blonde said and the oldest of them sighed out, bringing his hands up to massage at his temples. "Na-" Again, the poor man was interrupted.

"Look here you little brat! I am not a pervert! You're just jealous cuz a little twerp like you can't be awesome like me."

"Like I'd wanna be like you, gramps! As if I'd be jealous of someone as old as you! Not to mention you're a pervert!" Naruto shot back as he glared up at the man. The look did nothing.

He was only eight years old and his features will still soft and cute. Not even the dirtiest of looks could spoil the cuteness. And there was also the fact that he was covered in cuts and bruises, so the only thing he achieved was looking like a lost little kitten.

"Naruto… as I was saying, this is Jiraiya and he is the man that will be taking you out on an expedition" Sarutobi said with a heavy sigh as he stood up from his seat. "You asked for help in training and I got you your help. You two will be leaving soon. And I expect that when you come back you'll be able to produce good results from your training and enter the chuunin exams." The old man sighed out.

"But I haven't gone to any academy…" Naruto points out and Sarutobi sighs. "You don't need to because Jiraiya will be teaching you everything. Think of that as being your "Academy"" the old man says and Naruto smiles. "Thanks jii-san. I'll do my best" Naruto says cheerfully. For the first time since Sarutobi saw the blonde earlier that afternoon there was an actual spark in Narutos eyes and he was smiling genuinely.

"Now… you go and wait outside the building for Jiraiya. There's just something I have to talk to him about" Lord Third says. Naruto was suspicious about him but nodded his head and left the room.

There was silence between Jiraiya and Sarutobi. It didn't last long as the next person who spoke was Jiraiya himself, his tone filled with unease. "Sensei... If I'm going to be training him... I'll have to tell him the truth... I can't risk something bad happening." And Sarutobi sighed out.

"I knew the boy would have to be told the truth if he was going to be trained at such an age. He's still quite young so the nine-tails could easily go berserk if he lost control while in the middle of training. That's the reason why I picked you to train him. I know for a fact that Minato and Kushina would have wanted you to... but I also know that if he goes berserk you'd be able to control him"

Jiraiya smiled solemnly up at his old mentor. "Well... I just wanted your permission. You had banded anyone from speaking of the incident" Jiraiya said, that solemn smile still on his face.

"Permission granted. Now off you go. You're going to have a long journey." Lord third said with a smirk.

"Uh... What is there to expect from Naruto?" Jiraiya asked. Sarutobi chuckled out. "He's only eight. You have nothing to fear" he said with a smile.

"I don't like that smile of yours... It's definitely evil" Jiraiya said as he slowly walked away from his old mentor, a suspicious look on his face.

"Ahaha! Don't worry! You won't have any trouble with little Naruto. Now go. I have work to do"

* * *

Naruto and Jiraiya left the Konoha shortly after their conversation with Sarutobi. Jiraiya had been surprised when he had seen that the blonde had very little with him. He felt saddened by it, actually. Naruto had so little, and even the clothes he wore were all ragged and barely enough to keep him warm. The Sannin had made a mental note to do something about that once they reached their destination.

They had been walking for at least four hours straight and Naruto's little legs were starting to give up on him. The sun had already disappeared and the sky had turned dark. The moon was hiding behind the clouds and rain was starting to fall. Naruto had stayed up later than this before, but this time was different. Walking made it difficult. He had never walked so much in his life.

"Jiraiya… are we almost there?" he questions, his voice being muffled slightly by the small droplets of rain. Jiraiya had of course heard him. He looked back at Naruto and his heart went out to him. The blonde looked terrible. He was literally dragging behind him as if he was being pulled by strings. The blonde looked extremely worn out. Jiraiya hadn't noticed earlier but Naruto was limping. He had cuts and bruises all over his arms and leg and his frail body was shaking.

He wondered if he should stop and let the blonde rest for a few hours, but he decided not to. Naruto wanted to become strong and in order to do that he needed to endure. Without endurance he would just be a failure. "Naruto, ninja's can walk for longer. If you want to become one you need to endure... Not whine" Jiraiya said causing Naruto to glare at him. "I'm only eight... I'm not a proper ninja... I don't even know how to use chakra... Please, can we rest... I'm sure that gramps told you about what happened..." Naruto begged.

"Sarutobi-sensei hadn't told me anything about you" Jiraiya admitted and Naruto sighed out before hanging his head. He just wanted to sleep. His body ached. Especially on the inside. He didn't know why it was suddenly so sore. Maybe it was all the movement.

"Naruto... It's only a day's walk... It's not that far, I promise" Jiraiya said, sighing out, "Just think of this as a minor step to becoming a great shinobi" he said with a smile. Naruto looked up at him. "Fine...but then when we get to this place I want to start training immediately" the blonde said.

Jiraiya had been caught off guard by the determination in Naruto's blue eyes. It was like his exhaustion faded away. It reminded him of himself when he was younger. Always determined. And it was because of that that he couldn't deny the blondes request.

"Absolutely"

* * *

Naruto was tired. Absolutely tired. Five hours had already gone past, or at least that's what he thought.

The sky was starting to become lighter. Not too light, but as the hours passed the moon moved lower and lower and soon would disappear and be replaced by the sun.

The blondes eyes felt heavy, really heavy. His body was burning up in places and he felt like he'd collapse at any moment. He had been hoping to get through this walk, but the more he thought about it, the more he realized that it was impossible. His body wasn't used to this type of thing and neither was his mind.

He looked over at Jiraiya and saw that he didn't seem to be too bothered by the long, strenuous walk . But he was a lot older than Naruto and a ninja...

The blonde sighed out and looked at his feet. He had fallen behind. At this point he couldn't keep up. luckily Jiraiya stopped whenever he got too fa and waiting for the blonde to catch up to him. Naruto felt pathetic. He wanted to become stronger but he could even achieve walking long distances. He looked at his feet as if to command them to walk faster but they seemed to ignore him.

 _ **'I wonder if the brat would like to be ripped into tiny little piece's'**_ Naruto heard a voice say in his head.

It was that man. The one that had done terrible things to him.

' _I can't let that happen again. I need to get stronger. I need to endure'_ He shouted in his head as he sped up his pace.

If ninja's could do it then so could he. He was going to become one in any case. And like Jiraiya said, this could be thought of as a mini step to being that great ninja and it was a step Naruto would overcome.

Not paying much attention to where he was going the blonde bumped into something and fell onto his butt.

Fear suddenly striked in him as a flashback of the other night played in his head.

"Naruto?" He heard someone call out and without looking who it was the blonde started screaming. "P-please! I swear I'll look where I'm walking! D-don't hurt me!" He shouted as he scurried away.

"Naruto, what are you talking about? Why would I hurt you? Naruto, can you hear me! Naruto!?" The blonde couldn't hear the man. Everything around him was fading. All he could hear and see was those three men. That motion. That horrible, burning motion that tore him up. He could feel it as if it were happening again.

All previous thoughts had left him and been replaced by images of the three men. Before Naruto knew what was really happening his consciousness faded and his vision went black. The last thing he heard was the sound of a man calling out to him.

"Naruto!"

* * *

When Naruto opened his eyes he felt a horrible sense of deje vu. He was surprised to see a white ceiling above him and he wondered if he was back at his home.

"Naruto?" He heard someone call out his name. He slowly got up into a sitting position and turned to face the owner of the voice.

"Jiraiya-sensei? Where are we?" He asked and the man grinned. "We're at an inn. You passed out from exhaustion and I had to carry you all the way here. You're quite heavy for someone so small..." He said and Naruto looked down at his hands.

He didn't remember passing out... All he remembered was bumping into someone and then he started freaking out.

"Naruto... Last night... What's happened to you? What made you react like you had last night?" Jiraiya asked, his voice sounding serious.

Naruto carried on staring at his hands. He figured that he should tell Jiraiya... But a part of him didn't really want to.

"Narut-"

"The other day I was attacked by three men. It was partially my fault for walking into them. They said they'd teach me to look were I'm going and called me a monster... They... Did horrible things to me... Touched me where they shouldn't have... Put things in me... They kicked me, hit me, even cut me... All because I was a stupid idiot for not looking where I was going... All because I'm hated and I don't know why"

His voice had broken at the end and tears were streaming down his cheeks. Although he was crying his eyes looked like that of a corpse. Lifeless. Jiraiya had fallen silent as he stared at the blonde, eyes wide and mouth slightly a gape.

"T-thats why... That's why I need to learn jutsu... I need to learn how to protect myself... If I don't, something like that could happen again..." The blonde said as he wiped at his tears.

"Jiraiya-sensei… I know that so far I haven't really been a good kid... But from here on out I will focus more and do everything I can to become a ninja... I don't even have to be great... I just need to be good" the small blonde said with a soft smile directed to the older male.

Jiraiya smiled himself. The kid had been through quite a bit through the last few days. He knows how the villagers are, how cruel they are towards this innocent child. He was shocked about them actually going so far as to rape him because of something he didn't do. He felt disgusted in his own village, but at the same time he couldn't blame them for their ignorance.

"Naruto... Do you know why the villagers hate you?" Jiraiya questioned. Naruto shook his head. "No..." The blonde said as he looked down at his hands again. "Gramps wouldn't tell me... Neither would anybody else when I asked..." He admitted and Jiraiya sighed.

"Naruto... Do you know about the attack that happened eight years ago? The nine tails rampage?" Jiraiya asked and the blonde shook his head. "I don't..." He said and Jiraiya felt a heaviness on his shoulders. This kid was kept in the dark for way too long and Jiraiya was the one who now had to take him out of there.

"Naruto... Can you trust me?" Jiraiya asked the small blonde. Naruto looked at the man, contemplating if he did trust him or not but then shrugged. "If lord third can trust you with me even after what I told him... Then I do trust you" he said and Jiraiya smiled.

"Take off your shirt" he said.

Naruto blinked.

"Eh!? Why do I have to take off my shirt?! I knew you were a pervert! I knew it!" Naruto shouted as he backed away from Jiraiya.

"Look..." The man started, a feeling of irritation having already settled in him. "I want to show you something. I promise that I won't do anything..." He said and Naruto stared at him with weary eyes before sighing and moving forward.

He took off his shirt and crossed his hands over his chest. "There you happy" he said as he glared at the man that would soon be his mentor. "This will probably make me sound like a pervert but yes, yes I am" he said and Naruto's glare hardened.

It still didn't do anything to make him look intimidating.

"Okay... Naruto... Do you see that mark there?" Jiraiya asked as he pointed to the blondes belly. Naruto nodded his head as he looked at the mark, slowly tracing it with his index finger.

"I was told that it's a birth mark... But I don't believe that... Its black and it always comes and goes (1)" the blonde said.

"Okay... Naruto... What I'm going to tell you now may come as a shock... But please don't overreact" he said and Naruto nodded. Jiraiya took in a deep breath.

"The reason why you have that mark is because the fourth Hokage put it there, it's called the eight trigrams seal. It's a seal to suppress the nine tails in you" he said. Naruto couldn't really understand what the man was talking about. He didn't know what a nine tails was.

"Jiraiya... I don't understand what you're talking about... What's the nine tails?" He asked. Jiraiya sighed and brought his hands up to his temple, massaging it delicately. He was angry that they had gone so far as to even keep the story of the nine tails and all the other tailed beasts a secret so that Naruto wouldn't find out about that night.

"Okay... The nine tails is one of the nine tailed beast. A tailed beast is a beast with a great amount of chakra, and they are said to keep the world in check but there is nothing good about these creatures. They are wild and seek destruction. Each great nation has a tailed beast, some have more than one even. Konoha was the bearer of the nine tailed fox. The one with the most tails."

"There are the tailed beast and then there are the Jinchuriki that those beast are sealed into. The reason why they are sealed into jinchuriki is to keep them and their power in check. Naruto, the nine tails was sealed into you, making you the nine tails Jinchuriki and the person who sealed him in you was the fourth hokage. He sealed the nine tails into you when he went on a rampage and destroyed the village. Sealing him was the only way he could save the village." Jiraiya ended off.

Naruto went silent as he took in the new information. He had heard of creatures such as tailed beasts... But he never knew anything about them. He guessed that changed now.

Naruto thought back to all the times when he was called names such as monster, demon and all the others. It made sense. Everything made sense now.

They hated him because of the nine tails sealed inside him.

 _"He is the reason your father is dead"_ that was what the woman had said the other day. She blamed him for something that he didn't do... But he guessed he could understand their hate now.

The nine tails was sealed into him so it made sense to hate the person that had the very source of their pain sealed in them.

"Naruto... I want you to know that what happened those few years ago was not your fault. I don't even think it was the fox's fault. I have means to believe that the fox was being manipulated by someone... Even the third believes this, but of course we don't have any proof..."

"Why didn't I know about this? Why didn't anybody tell me?" Naruto asked.

"Because lord third banned everyone from even talking about the attack... Naruto... The reason why he chose me to train you is because I can help you control the nine tails chakra. I can also try to suppress its power in case he tries to take over... But I don't think that will happen. That seal is way too strong, but it allows the fox's chakra to seep through and it will eventually weaken the seal"

"Then please... Start training me so that that will never happen." Naruto said, shocking Jiraiya. He was now looking up at the man, determination in his eyes.

Jiraiya could see hurt in there as well. He could see how much this news hurt the blonde, but his determination to get over that hurt was awe inspiring.

"Naruto..."

"I know that this news is probably something that I should be crying about. But I'm tired of crying. I don't care if there's a tailed beast sealed into me. I don't care if I'm a jinchuriki. I will learn how to control my own chakra and the nine tails. I will do everything in my power to gain the respect of the village!" He exclaimed and Jiraiya grinned.

"Yosh! Let's get starte-" He said but the sound of a growling stomach stopped him.

"Ahaha... Maybe we could start after I eat something" Naruto said as he brought his hand up to scratch at the back of his head in a nervous way.

He hadn't eaten in a day at most so he was a little bit peckish.

"I'm hungry too" Jiraiya said and the both of them chuckled.

Naruto may or may have not been forcing it a little, but he was happy. He finally knew why the villagers hated him and although it upset him, he couldn't do much about it. The only thing he could do now was prove to them that he wasn't a monster.

* * *

A week had passed since Jiraiya had told Naruto about the nine tails and Naruto had told Jiraiya about the three men. They hadn't stayed long at the inn they were at and left. They were now in a village called "Sakura Village".

Jiraiya had said that the village was named that because of the sakura trees that surrounded the village. It was also a village known for peace and serenity.

Naruto quite like this place. He wasn't looked at with hateful eyes and he was treated like a human being.

"Naruto... Please concentrate. Chakra control is the first thing you need to learn. You need to be able to mould chakra to do any type of ninjutsu" Jiraiya said. This was the third time that day that he had asked Naruto to concentrate.

They were in a small field located outside of Sakura village. Jiraiya thought it would be better to train him in an open space. If the blonde was going to be learning chakra control then it was essential that he wasn't in contact with any other villagers as something could go wrong during training.

"Sorry... I got a little caught up in my thoughts... Okay... This is the last time I swear." The blonde said as he sat down on the cool grass.

"Right... You're actually doing quite well... But you still don't know how to control your chakra correctly... I'm taking a chance here but I want you to try and make a clone. You should know the basic hand signs, right?" He asked and Naruto nodded.

"Now... While making those hand signs I want you to mould your chakra. Using hand signs helps mould your chakra into a certain shape that is needed for a certain jutsu. The more experience you gain, the less hand signs you need to make as you'll be able to do things at will" Jiraiya explained.

Naruto nodded his head and stood up. He took in a deep breath before making the signs ram, snake and tiger.

'Channel your chakra, then shape it using the hand signs' he chanted in his head.

"Bunshin no Jutsu!" He shouted and a poof of smoke gathered in front of him. Once the smoke cleared they were greeted with a rather loopy looking clone. It didn't even look like Naruto.

"Aw man" he said as the weird clone of himself fell to the ground and dispersed. "Well...at least you managed to make something... I think it's a good start. You've only been training for a few days and you're seriously progressing. We just need to get that control up to a reasonable standard" Jiraiya said with a smile.

"I don't think I made any progress... I tried doing what you told me to but I just can't get a firm grip of my chakra" Naruto said as he sat back on the ground.

"It's not that you can't get a grip of it. You obviously had accessed chakra a minute ago. If you hadn't then there wouldn't have been a clone in front of you."

"That was definitely not a clone" Naruto said and Jiraiya sighed. "Naruto. You come from the Uzumaki clan. Uzumaki's possess large amounts of chakra just by themselves. The fact that you have the nine tails in you means that that amount is made larger. Well... Not necessarily... But once you can control the nine tails chakra you'll have an even larger amount.

"Right now you're using too little of that chakra, barely enough to do any type of jutsu. Try the bunshin again and add a little more chakra" Jiraiya said.

"Here, let me show you" he said as he made the signs and a clone of himself appeared in a poof of smoke. "See" both Jiraiya and his clone grinned down at Naruto, creeping the blonde out slightly.

"Please don't smile like that" the blonde said with a creeped out expression on his face. "Just do the jutsu" Jiraiya said as his clone poofed away.

"Right!" The blonde shouted. He didn't get up though. He sat down and brought his hands together and started making the same hand signs as before.

That same poof of smoke filled in front of him and as soon as it cleared the blonde was greeted with nothing. Absolutely nothing.

"I think you put a little too much in..." Jiraiya said as he stared at the blonde. "Well, I'm going to go and do my research. I want you to get this jutsu right so I'll leave you to train by yourself" Jiraiya said and just as Naruto was about to complain the man disappeared in a whirl of smoke.

"Eh?! That was a clone?!" the blonde exclaimed as he watched the white little clouds dissipate. He was soon left in silence.

The blonde sighed out as he looked up at the clear blue sky. He wondered if he'd be able to create clones. He wondered if he'd be able to do anything a ninja could. He knew that there was no use in pondering about it, but he still had those questions floating inside his head. and once those questions surfaced he started doubting himself, and once he started doing that he'd let down his guard and images of the three men would surface.

So that was why he didn't want to ask questions he couldn't answer. He was just going to train and find out himself. At this point failure was not an option. He needed to get stronger. He needed to change. He was going to become someone that the village would admire. Even if it kills him…

* * *

 _ **Well there we have it. Sorry for the extremely long wait. I didn't think anybody was really interested in this but I felt the sudden urge to update so I fixed chapter two and here we have it! I hope it was enjoyable. I know it was all sad and serious and then suddenly humour was thrown in. Sorry about that. I can be unnecessarily spontaneous at times.**_

 _ **Sooo, I'm going to skip right to the plot after this chapter. I really don't want to spend too much time on his training. That's just trivial matters. All you guys need to know that he gets stronger. There's probably going to be a 4 year time skip in the next chapter. I'll do a little introductory to explain what happened in the four years but I won't go into too much detail. It's not that important either.**_

 _ **1; originally the seal mark only shows when Naruto uses Kuruma's chakra but I changed it a little bit to fit this story. Naruto will be on good terms with the nine tails so they probably will be speaking with each other a lot as well. Just a heads up for that.**_

 _ **So I really do how you guys enjoyed. I'm thankful to those of you that reviewed. You made me inspired to continue.**_

 _ **So, as usual, I hope to get reviews. I like reading feedback from the readers so please review!**_

 _ **Until next time**_

 _ **Ciao~**_


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